Last week, a follower of this blog, Christine Debrosky, wrote and asked if I had ever read anything about a pigment called, mummy yellow, or mummy brown. Well, I have, and this is probably the most bizarre and creepy pigment story yet. In her book, Colors, Anne Verichon says that in ancient Egypt mummy yellow was sacred because it was made from … [Read more...] about Mummy Tales
pigments
Sneak Peeks from the Pharaohs
Well, it's time for the big reveal of a few of the initial works completed in the last weeks using colors from the pharaoh's tombs. As mentioned before this pigment project has been more of a challenge than the Dutch themed one. The most important issue is there are fewer colors and even fewer vibrant ones. This detail below is from … [Read more...] about Sneak Peeks from the Pharaohs
Red Iron Oxide
Red iron oxide pigment mixed with linseed oil. A detail of my most recent project painting using red iron oxide. Temple wall at Edfu showing traces of probable red iron oxide. I will be using and researching this pigment in the coming days. … [Read more...] about Red Iron Oxide
Lotus Buds
The lotus flower image in ancient Egypt is legendary and is seen all over the temples and tombs. Initially, I feared I would not be able to utilize this splendid flower in my compositions because I did not have an adequate image to use. Then I searched wikipedia and found several that will work perfectly. The most critical issue here is the … [Read more...] about Lotus Buds
Dendera Temple Ceiling Colors
At several places within the Temple of Dendera the colors from antiquity were visible. Here you can see the remains of a bluish pigment on the ceiling. The ancient Egyptians used two blues. One is the Egyptian blue frit described in an earlier blog entry and the other azurite. It is impossible to tell which was used here without analyzing a … [Read more...] about Dendera Temple Ceiling Colors